People love clichés.

A well-placed cliché makes conversations, speeches and even sermons more interesting. One very popular cliché used when people have misfortune is or difficulty is, “When life gives you lemons make lemonade”.

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BUT WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANY SUGAR?

What if you have a health condition that doesn’t allow you to have sugar?

Sometimes in life we have to faith our way through some difficult days…

Sometimes we have to take some medicine that just doesn’t taste good…

Sometimes you have to swallow a really big pill that’s hard to get down…

Some people can’t have sugar in their diet…

Sometimes your healing comes from something bitter.

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AREN’T YOU GLAD THAT JESUS DIDN’T MAKE LEMONADE ON THE CROSS?

2 Timothy 2:3 tells us to endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:2 teaches us to look to Jesus, who endured the cross for…

God always answers prayer…and usually it comes suddenly.

There have been times I was greatly troubled to the point that found it difficult to enjoy anything else.

Even in a happy moment, I might laugh… and then rushing to the front of my mind comes the thought, “REMEMBER ME!!!” I’m your trouble and I haven’t gone ANYWHERE!!!

In the midst of this trouble I pray to God for peace, which doesn’t always come immediately. As I continue in prayer, I consider my troubling situations. I think of how good God is to me, EVEN with the trouble I’m experiencing. I think of all of the things that COULD go wrong…that haven’t. I think of ALL of the things God has ALREADY brought me through.

That’s when I stop and thank Him for just for being God…for His unfailing love, even when mine fails…for His faithfulness even when I’m unfaithful to…

1 Peter 1:7 (NKJV)
⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

Once we are baptized into the Body of Christ, then comes of lifetime of growth in our faith. That public affirmation, testimony and ‘marriage ceremony’ of what has taken place on the inside is symbolized by being totally immersed in water.

But, as God matures us sometimes through trials and challenges. Difficulty in your life doesn’t always mean you’re being punished…sometimes you’re being perfected.
1 Peter 1:7 (NKJV)
⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
Malachi 3:2-3 (NKJV)

It may be a group of friends, professionals, artists, singers, musicians or preachers.

It’s a circle that you wanted to be a part of…

That you tried or even prayed to get in…

And, they rejected you.

It may not have even necessarily been a ‘bad’ group, that’s why you wanted in.

Even if it’s a good group doesn’t mean that it’s the group God has ordained for you.

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You have influence too!

You are anointed too!

You have purpose too!

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God has purpose for you that’s beyond and sometimes greater than that group or circle you wanted to be a part of.

And, even that group had to start with somebody. Every industry had to start with a single idea.

So, here it is…

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​The reason some people won’t accept you into THEIR circle is because God is trying to build HIS circle AROUND you.

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Look at Yeshua, our…

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Never take for granted Yahweh’s precious gift of being justified by and through our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, Christ Jesus!

Remember, justification simply means being counted as or pronounced as righteous in spite of our sin and filth.

Acts 13:38-39 (NKJV)

³⁸Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, thatthrough this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;³⁹andbyHim everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Isaiah 64:6(NKJV)

⁶ But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like ^[a]filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.

This means that looking at us through the sacrifice of Christ and repentant hearts, God doesn’t see how nasty we are. He only sees His righteousness.

Think of it like…

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Be very careful to notice where God uses the word ‘AS’ in His word. It can be easily overlooked, but the comparisons are always very powerful and contain profound revelation into how God relates to us.

It is literally used to say ‘LIKE”.

For example, God isn’t saying it only takes a little faith in Matthew 17 verse 20. On the contrary, there are numerous occasions when Jesus rebuked His disciples for having ‘little’ faith and complimented others for having great faith. Link

He is saying that it takes great faith for something AS small as a grain of mustard seed to create something great…

Matthew 17:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^[a]unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith AS a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and…

We have a tendency to categorize sins based on our culture, experiences, perceptions and personal theology. We tend to have BIG sins and little sins.

And, there are even some people who actually even feel that they don’t sin because they feel they aren’t committing the BIG sins.

We have this idea of what’s ‘evil’. When think of ‘evil’ things like violence, illicit sex, porn, drug abuse, physical abuse, oppression, racism, profanity, etc., etc., etc., come to mind.

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However evil is simply that what is contrary to God’s will and falls short of His expectations.

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Think about when Jesus was telling His disciples about His coming death and resurrection what Peter blurted out…in so many words he said, “No way! I got your back!”

Matthew 16:21-23  (NKJV)

 ²¹ From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the…

Have you ever noticed how Paul interacted with the people of Athens? He encountered people who did not believe in the God of our salvation. He took advantage of the opportunity to teach them about Yeshua, Christ Jesus.

He didn’t do as many Christians do today, allow his passion to confront them in anger and spiritual arrogance. He didn’t tell them how stupid, silly and foolish they were to believe as they did. He didn’t try to bully them into believing.

Paul reached out to them in respect and love, acknowledging that they sincerely believed in something, and he wanted to present to them the only Living God…

Acts 17:22-30 (NKJV)

Addressing the Areopagus

²² Then Paul stood in the midst of the]Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;²³ for as I was passing through and considering the…

If you believe in God, then you have to believe in the devil. We have seen many movies such as The Exorcist that dramatizes demonic possession. I believe that demonic possession is real, and is the explanation for many heinous acts throughout history.

Matthew 12:43-45 (NKJV)

⁴³ “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴ Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So, shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

In the movies, the help of a Catholic priest is usually enlisted to confront and…